Spanish Civil War Commemoration

Seventy years after the end of the Spanish Civil War the first ever memorial plaque to the anti-fascist British and Irish volunteers who fought alongside George Orwell in the ILP Contingent will be unveiled.

Two political veterans will do the honours: Sidney Robinson, an Independent Labour Party activist in the 1930s who chaired the Newport Spanish Aid Committee, and Roma Marquez Santos, who served in the POUM on the Aragon front with the ILP volunteers. Roma was to spend 10 years in one of Franco’s jails.

At the same time there will be a book launch for ‘Not just Orwell’: The Independent Labour Party Volunteers and the Spanish Civil War by Christopher Hall. For the first time we have a publication that examines the experiences of the ILP combatants and the role played by the ILP. This acknowledges the tragic political conflicts between POUM and the anarchists on one hand and the Communist Party.

The twin events will be held at the Working Class Movement Library in Salford beginning at 2.00 pm, Saturday, 30^th May.

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To be sure of a place, or for a copy of the book, please contact:

Chris Hall christoff_hall@yahoo.com

Barry Winter b.winter@leedsmet.ac.uk

ILP (Independent Labour Publications) info@independentlabour.org.uk